Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It's no joke. Have to get checked out myself. A relative of mines just got treated for it.
Wow, hope they will be ok. It makes me sick to know the city doesn't have any regulations on testing of cooling systems. For one to be contaminated is bad but now several are confirmed. People are getting sick for no reason.
The bubbles aerosolize the water and bacteria and everyone gets to breath in the poisoned vapors.
Can someone explain to me how the City's "cooling systems" can harbor and transmit Legionella? We have none of the evaporative wet systems they might have in a very dry climate...like Arizona.
The bubbles aerosolize the water and bacteria and everyone gets to breath in the poisoned vapors.
Can someone explain to me how the City's "cooling systems" can harbor and transmit Legionella? We have none of the evaporative wet systems they might have in a very dry climate...like Arizona.
the bacteria and diseases stay dormant in cold temps, without proper cleaning, it's open season
So then, can we assume that large commercial AC units involve spray towers to cool large condensers. If so then the man on the street can be exposed to aerosols in the spray.
If I were in the South Bronx I would walk around with a mask (and make believe I'm Japanese.)
What's frustrating is this is very preventable. For those not familiar with the tech, cooling towers are not AC units. Large industrial AC compressors (chillers) use the water from these cooling towers to condense the refrigerant in the chillers. The water removes the heat from the refrigerant, is pumped to the top of the cooling towers, the water flows down fins, the fans at the top of the tower draw air through the fins, this removes heat from the water, the water flows down to the pan, and the water in the pan is drawn back to the chiller.
On cool or cold days, you can see what looks like smoke rising from these towers. This is the moisture these towers make airborne that you don't see in the hot summer months. IF the building maintenance performs their routine testing and chemical pump adjustments and IF building owners/administration provides the budget to maintenance to do their job properly, this won't happen. There is automated systems to pump in biocide chemicals on a regular schedule. Though automated, they still require maintenance monitoring and routine checks. Sometimes the chemical feed lines get clogged, the chemical pumps loose their prime and stop pumping, the automated system fails, or the chemical drum becomes empty. These towers require annual draining and cleaning, usually done in cooler months. Depending on the size of the work force and cooling towers, it could take two days per tower for a full cleaning. You can't use chlorine to clean the towers because it is highly corrosive. There are other chemicals that kill bacteria without causing corrosion. The hospital where I work has a contract with a company that comes once a month to perform more indepth testing and makes adjustments on the automated chemical feed system. Smaller facilities don't seem to want to pay for such a service which is part of why this is happening in your city right now. Administration or building owners always look for ways to cut cost and they always seem to look at building maintenance cost. They look at the short term cost savings not realizing the long term expenses of such cutbacks. Better to spend a little more per month now than a small fortune later when the kaka hits the fan later down the road.
Because of how it's contracted, yes, even a cheap medical mask like what you see in Japan will help. The moisture will stop at the mask (if sealed properly).
The bubbles aerosolize the water and bacteria and everyone gets to breath in the poisoned vapors.
Can someone explain to me how the City's "cooling systems" can harbor and transmit Legionella? We have none of the evaporative wet systems they might have in a very dry climate...like Arizona.
Cooling towers for chillers and hydronic heat pumps.
Legionnaires is a constant risk for HVAC techs who work on chilled water systems.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
